VINCENT T. DAVIS, San Antonio Express-news |
May 1, 2007

Nino Flores, 80, empties his truck's load into a landfill in San Antonio. He has worked as a trash collector for 27 years.

SAN ANTONIO — Nino Flores wields the wide steering wheel of his 25,000-pound sanitation truck along San Antonio streets with a firm, two-handed grip. Co-workers wave and nod with respect as truck No. 2998 rumbles into softball parks and senior center parking lots.

Flores climbs down from the cab at each stop, grabbing bags of trash and slinging them into the rear compactor as if tossing logs onto a fire. He pushes a baton-sized handle that sends a slab of metal scooping up waste and grinding it. Back in the cab, he turns on the air conditioner, and the sweet-sour smell of smashed food, tree limbs and rubbish fills the cab with nary a sniff from Flores.

After 27 years working with the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department as a garbage collection truck driver, there's little about his job that bothers him. The only thing that strikes a nerve is if someone asks when he's going to retire. Many people have asked him that question in the past few years, more so since he recently turned 80.

"I'll keep working as long as I can keep walking or someone else retires me," Flores said, jabbing his index finger to the sky. "Instead of going up (in years), I'm going down."

Patricia Olivo, 45, worked beside Flores for eight years before transferring to work with the city's Community Initiatives. During their runs, Flores worked as hard as any young man, she said.

"It was wonderful working with him. He's a strong man for his age," Olivo said. "He makes you laugh."

After he's done for the day, Flores heads home, where he lives alone.

He's been divorced for 42 years. He spends much of his time with his three children. They've all pleaded with him to retire and rest.

He says he doesn't know how, convinced he would be bored if he had to sit at home. And he thinks a lot of health issues could creep up on him if he doesn't stay busy.

By 9 p.m. he's asleep. He rises early, downing a cup of coffee before heading to work at 6:45 a.m.

Living during the Depression taught Flores the importance of work. Since age 17, he's sought any job he could land without a high school diploma. In a family of 10 children, everyone had to do his or her share to survive, and Flores never had the opportunity for an education.

Flores has stayed longer than several co-workers he started with. They've all retired. So Flores' path is a solitary one.

But his co-workers treat him with reverence. Some even take his advice about life, and that raises a slight smile to his weathered face. He's content working where the duties haven't changed, people don't hassle him and he just does his job.